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THE TRIAL OF CAPTAIN THOMAS PRESTON
FOR THE MURDER OF CRISPUS ATTUCKS
AND OTHERS, BOSTON MASSA-
CHUSSETS, 1770,

THE NARRATIVE AND TRIAL,

Before the trial of the eight soldiers was had (ante, p. 415)
Captain Thomas Preston, who was in command of the regi-
ment to which they belonged and who it was charged had or-
dered the soldiers to fire and who hed been included in the
indictments against them, was brought to trial before the
same judges and with the same counsel. The trial of the
soldiers was very fully reported by John Hodgson? but of
the captain’s trial no minutes are known to exist, Only the
names of the jurore have been preserved-——William Frobisher,
Joseph Trescott, Neal McIntire, Thomas Mayo, Josiah
Spragne, Joseph Guild, Jonathan Parker, Gilbert Deblois,
Philip Dumaresque, William Hill, William Wait Wallis, and
James Barrick.

A few witnesses testified that he ordered his men to fire,
but their evidence was encountered by that of several other
witnesses, who stood near to him, and were conversing with
him at a different place from thet which the witnesses for
the Crown swore he was in; and the judges, in summing
up the evidence to the jury, were unanimous in their opinion,
that he did not order his men to fire, but if he did, they were
of opinion, that, from the evidence of many other witnesses,
the assault, both on the officer and men while upon duty, was
to violent, that the homicide could not amount even to man-
slaughter, but must be considered as excusable homicide.

The trial began on October 24, 1770, occupying about six
days. In the course of it, Mr. Quincy pushed the examina-
tion and cross-examination of the witnesses to such an ex-

2 Ante, p. 418.
509

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